April 2025 – Page 2 – Richard Schulz

Dark days.

A man sitting on the side of a street in the shadow cast by a tree. — Difficulty.

Sometimes you’re the bug & sometimes you’re the windshield.

I’ve read this quote before. But lately I’ve been trying to stop attributing quotes.

It’s been a tough few weeks for me. I’m not getting the traction I’d like with writing. Same with photography. My compact camera hasn’t seen any serious action in the last two weeks.

I’m used to this type of rollercoaster. We all have good days. Bad days. And then the days where nothing seems to be working. Your alarm clock fails you. A flat tire on your car or bicycle. The one person at work who knows what ticks you off – and today they bring their A-game.

Each time I get into this type of funk I think to myself “How can I be better prepared for the next time this happens?“

And it’s part of the problem.

I read a book around depression remedies¹ and one thing they suggested was to enjoy the fall. Know it will happen again. Know it is often a losing battle to try and get yourself out of the funk. Sometimes just take one step or do one thing to keep yourself going.

I don’t really enjoy writing about my battles with the black dog. Comparatively speaking my life isn’t bad. It’s tough but I know people who have it worse. So I tend to keep quiet when I shouldn’t. And I tend to make jokes when I shouldn’t. This creates a nice little feedback loop of negativity.

I’m writing this purely to get it out of my system. Because this mental block usually stops me from writing which makes me more depressed. And after writing and getting it off my chest I feel much better. My mind is empty and new ideas can take shape again.

Thanks for reading : )

Notes.

1. If you’re suffering from depression, and have been going in the to-and-fro for a while you’ll know a cure isn’t something which is possible. You learn to live with it. IMHO.

First steps.

Sunday afternoons tend to bring out the creative in me.

It’s a day where I don’t have to put on a fake smile. It’s a day where I can be myself without all the pretending.

I thought about starting. If you’ve been reading some of my thoughts here and over on Substack you’ll know I want to start selling photos. The photo selling is one aspect I am looking at but realistically speaking I’d like to become financially independent.

A year ago, give or take a month or six, I had a bad experience with a business I worked for. TL;DR business got sold, staff didn’t want to work with the new owner so he retrenched everyone.

This (coupled with ten years of retail work) left a fairly sour taste in my mouth. And it left me with the realization of no job being a safe haven despite what I might think. By the same token I can say working for yourself is not safe either but at very least you’re doing something you enjoy.

So I sat down and started working through some ideas about how I can start earning additional income. It was natural for photography to fit into this plan.

A dark road lit by street lights. — Early morning.

Getting started.

The first steps in this, or any related journey, is to get started.

The level of your desire to become financially independent will not help one bit if you don’t start. And trust me, if you’ve never done this – the first steps are the most difficult.

A long time ago I did freelance website design & development. The search for clients took time. There was a lot of knocking on doors. After a few months I found my first client. The thrill of making money for myself, off my own efforts doing something I enjoyed is indescribable.

The first victory is the most important.

It sets you up for the next one. And more importantly it shows you what is possible when you work hard enough. You are responsible for the results you want. You might not succeed initially but trying is better than not trying.

An old man walking past an open door. — Keep moving.

And it won’t be easy.

Wishing for things to be better only serves to make you more miserable. You sit and think about how you want to move to a different point in your life but you don’t do something to achieve it. This is a key ingredient for depression.

Think about what you’d like to achieve with your photography. Do you want to sell prints? Do you want to become a landscape photographer or a fine art photographer? Is it event and wedding photography which tickles your fancy?

Just start.

Take one photo of a landscape. Shoot with one model. Start looking at platforms where you can sell your work. Post online. Find a community. Get yourself out there. Make people aware of your work, what you can do. No one knows about the photos you want to sell. No one knows about your dreams unless you tell them about it.

Caveat.

As with most things in life it is best to be carefully optimistic. That’s my take anyway.

Does taking the first step mean your endeavor will be a success?

No.

Success isn’t a guaranteed thing. It isn’t promised to anyone. This is where the hard work comes in. Emailing potential clients looking for a website. Placing adverts. Marketing yourself. All these steps are going to make your successful. Even if you don’t achieve success you have gained the experience for your next attempt. Rinse and repeat.

If you got to the end I thank you for taking the time to read my work. Should you want to support me and put me a little bit closer to my goal of being financially independent please have a look at my Paystack page or consider subscribing to my newsletter on Substack.

Thanks for reading : )

Ethics in photography.

I was reading this post about ethics in photography and it occurred to me how different photography has been for me in the small town I call home.

You can’t go full Bruce Gilden here. I promise you it won’t end well for you. I’ve seen people start fights for a lot less than someone pushing a camera in their face.

Two women walking on a sidewalk. One of the women is carrying a baby on her back wrapped in a blanket. — Baby.

People tend to think about cameras in two ways here.

First, as something used by people working for a newspaper. Perhaps a reference drawn from a movie or television series. When I went out with my camera a few years ago I regularly got the question: “Do you work for a newspaper?”

Two, cameras are ways of capturing indiscretion. Cameras are means to expose people. Used to make people pay for crimes or as tools to gather evidence.

Knowing this makes street photography here a bit more difficult than say New York. A camera draws attention. Not only for the interested or the curious but also for the potential thief. Theft is something which happens a lot. People stealing to eat or to feed a drug habit.

Having written all this – the ethics remain the same. Not matter where you take photos.

If you’re a hobby photographer, I think it weighs less on you than someone in a professional capacity. The photographer going into war zones, who has the mandate to document, is different. The photographer on assignment, looking to capture a gritty photo to share a different way of life.

When I go out I think about situations: if I see someone in a bad situation, do I want to take a photo to showcase & share their misery? Just because I can take the photo doesn’t mean I should. Will I lose out on a moment which could have made for a stunning photo? Perhaps. It is something I will have to live with.

With these things in mind I adopted my approach and style to suit the conditions. I capture moments where I aim to show the subject but also leave them unidentified. I like the “back of the head” photos. Subjects walking away, subjects walking past. Subjects not ever looking directly at the camera.

If you’re interested in more about this topic please have a look at the newsletter I linked to, you’ll find it very enlightening.

Thanks for reading : )

Photo of the day

9/4/2025.

As Winter keeps creeping closer we’ve been having some odd weather. The past few weeks brought us lots of rain. More than the previous years. And to many people this signals a cold winter.

A street lamp against a sky full of dark clouds.

This was taken a short walk from where I live. The wind tends to blow from the south east which is to the right in the image. The cold fronts come up from the Western Cape which starts happening in May and June. I’m looking forward to walking cold empty streets with my camera this year.

A tree with yellow leaves next to a building. Both are located inside a palisade fence. — Fall.

This is my favorite image.

It’s a hall which is used for amateur boxing training & matches. It used to be in a terrible state a few years ago when illegal squatters moved in and took up residence inside the building.

In the two years it has been cleaned up and fixed. Boxing is a popular sport in the West Rand area. The two trees in the foreground are witstinkhout (Celtis Africana). The leaves on some of the trees are already turning yellow which makes for great photos.

Live for the journey.

A bicycle standing outside a cafe. — A bicycle can be a conversation starter.

I was standing in my regular spot this morning.

A homeless guy walked past me and said it was only be God’s grace he was still alive. A few minutes later the same guy walked up the street, ironically towards a church, and cursed at someone. Five minutes of fairly loud cursing and then he went quiet.

Interesting moments often happen at this intersection. I savor this thirty to forty minute block of time. I listen to the music from taxis as they hoot and wait to pick up the school children in the apartment block. I talk to the lady at the small fruit and vegetable shop. We talk about protests and the local municipality. Its lack of urgency and the incompetence a popular subject all over town.

Other times I see a friend. We talk about things we used to do when we worked together. Or he tells me about his current job. Always laughing when we talk.

Smelling the urine against the wall were homeless people sleep I think about life. My life. How I often wish for things, success or notoriety. Then I unlock my phone and browse a few newsletters thinking how it might be fun to be famous but I’d have to give up standing on corners taking photos.

We spend so much time chasing what’s next that we forget to appreciate what’s now. Your journey matters just as much as the destination. Celebrate the progress, stay present, and find joy in every step forward.

– Boder, PA-C | PA Mentor

Read on Substack

A great thought.

We rush through most of the things we do in life. We see the end of the work day as a goal. Or the end of a year as something to work for. In doing this we don’t focus on what’s right in front of us.

I often here this type of discussions around the end (or start) of a year:

“This year went by so fast.”

“Just one month then it’s already April. Time flies. Soon it will be May, next winter will be finished and then Spring is here. And then it’s only a month before Christmas.”

Someone made a great counter point to these arguments:

“You don’t remember where the time went because you don’t know what you did. Write down everything you do and then look back and you’ll see where the time went.”

Enjoy the journey. Savor the cold mornings, getting up at 5. Enjoy the pointless discussions because you can learn something from them. Enjoy making mistakes because you can learn something from them. Make some on purpose to see what happens.

Thanks for reading : )

Sunday navel gazing.

This week has been interesting to say the least.

The two words which is going to significantly alter the world for the rest of the year (and longer) are trade wars. It’s going to make life a lot more expensive and we all know as prices rise they rarely come down to where they were before the increase. Not looking forward to all the prices hits but it’s going to be interesting to see how the rest of the world reacts.

Potholes.

I took a few photos this week which I’ll include in the post. The more important ones for me are below:

A massive pothole filled with prefabricated slabs of concrete. — Potholes. The new national flower of South Africa.

Imagine driving on these roads. I’m on my bicycle in the mornings & afternoons and I have to dodge them. A bigger problem are drivers swerving and racing around these roads. Yip, you still have id10ts driving over the speed limits on these roads.

Reds.

These two items stood out on my way to town this morning. Both notable brands and both bright red. I left them in color as the impact they had on me would have in lost if I de-saturated them. I’m looking forward to the coming Autumn months as the leaves turn yellow and brown.

There is one street which has a line of sweet gum trees and their leaves then to go red / orange around this time of year. I’ll try to capture a few photos of them to share. Those colors against the blue sky are always an interesting combination.

Fried chicken.

A low perspective photo of a can of soda lying on the side of the road. — Empty.

Serenade Chili.

Another favorite hobby is to grow chilies. Over the years I’ve grown mostly the birds’ eye variety and they have a nice spiciness to them. Not too hot but not so subdued either. This is a fairly common chili in South Africa and you don’t need much expertise to grow them. Having a hot Summer & Spring tends to help.

I’m looking to create a chili sauce so I want to find something which I can grow and combine it with some tomatoes and onions. Not quite a chutney type sauce; a relish instead. I’ll leave updates on how this is going.

In closing.

As the rain clouds gather and the wind picks up I will end this post. The next edition (49) of my newsletter is out today at 15:00 local time. In it I focus on my journey through editions 40 – 49. What I learned and a few hints at what I have in mind for the next ten.

I was thinking about the week ahead and I have a single intention in mind – to get my photo selling business / side-hustle started*. My platform of choice (not much of a choice though) is Paystack for this. They offer a store front option and I’ll be selling images from the past seven years of my photography journey.

I’m going to focus on digital photos for the first few months but once I find a good photo printing company I will start selling physical prints but only in South Africa.

If you are selling photos please leave a link because I’d like to hang some photos from other photographers on the walls. I recently bought a photo from a local artist and had a canvas made of it. Will share photo to this next week.

If you found some value in my work, please consider supporting my work here.

Thanks for reading : )

On Substack.

A road going into the distance. On the left side of the image three street lamps going away from the viewer. — Going into the distance.

I read an interesting Note on Substack which got me thinking.

https://substack.com/@tugbaavci/note/c-105614118

A platform such as Substack will only be successful if it keeps listening to its users. Play to your strengths. For Substack it was initially writing.

This was what got my attention. I didn’t have a website at the time so this concept was a good one. Write your newsletter and build a community. I tried YouTube but I’m not focused or dedicated or have enough time to make videos on a regular basis. But writing I can do and work into my schedule.

I remember when I started on Substack – there was a chill vibe. Then Notes came in. Still a chill vibe but less so. Then video. Suddenly it feels like another social media platform.

I had a look at the Substack and read this on the about page:

We started Substack because we believe that what you read matters and that good writing is valuable – and as the platform has evolved, we’ve come to expand that view to include all forms of cultural work.

Should people who like to share videos not be part of Substack? Should people who like sharing photos not be part of Substack? They should definitely be part of the platform.

But what draws you to Substack is the writing. When I log on I don’t think “I want to see what photo [random author] posted” or “Can’t wait to see [random author]’s new video.”

Nope. I go there to read.

The future of Substack (imho)

If you want to play in the same league as the traditional social media platforms you have to adopt their tactics. You see what is working for them and do that. And you see what isn’t working for them then stay far away from it.

I think Substack is already on its way to being a social media platform. We already announce all our daily things on Notes. Now we have Reels. My Notes feed is already looking like X which a variety of religious and political battles.

Just like social media.

Instagram used to ban any photographer who dared posting a nipple on the platform. Now you can view super suggestive videos and images. But just don’t like too many posts because it might get you shadow banned. And how often do you see TikTok type challenges on IG. No wonder people are leaving.

All these bad actors are migrating. Soon they will invade Substack. In fact some of them already have. The account with a picture of a blonde who doesn’t post for more than a year then suddenly shows up in your DM’s want to teach you about crypto? They probably do the same on IG, FB and TikTok.

I’d like to continue this discussion somewhere in the future because it isn’t as black and white as we think but for a platform to be successful these types of uncomfortable discussions have to happen. Leave your thoughts here or on Substack.

I think I’ll call it a day here. It’s late and I’m working tomorrow.

Thanks for reading : )

The color of the leaves.

Autumn leaves lying on the side of a street.

This street is an interesting one. Apart from being on of the more shady areas in it is shady for another reason.

It is lined with Witstinkhout trees (white stinkwood if you’re look for a direct translation) and as the seasons change from Summer to Autumn and then into Winter this street, and others, are filled by yellow leaves lying on the side of the road. Makes for a nice photo opportunity if there is a strong breeze around.

Below is the SOOC version from my phone.

Autumn Leaves. — Autumn Leaves in color.

Looking forward to seeing more of this street in the coming months.

Thanks for reading : )

Urban decay.

For some time now I’ve been thinking about a certain topic: urban decay.

Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay.

Looking around the town where I live there are some signs of urban decay. Infrastructure falling into disrepair mostly. Roads are disintegrating as no maintenance is done on them.

Another problem is refuse being dumped on corners. This morning I was on my way to work and took this photo.

A photo of two street corners. On the left a sign of for sale on the wall of the building. On the right a few refuse bags. — Urban decay.

To the left you can see a few refuse bags lying on the side of the road. To the right of the image underneath the trees there was about ten or twelve refuse bags full of various sort of garbage.

It seems as a part of a town, city or country starts to collapse the people in the area follows suit. The mindset around keeping your city / town clean disappears. The morality seems to disappear.

This image is in one of the more “seedy” areas of town. I’ve been working here for about 10 years and I’ve seen some weird things here. People on drugs. Fist fights. Petty crime. ATM scammers. Sex workers, pushers, users. Guys on CAT, girls on meth. Police raids and mob justice. People getting killed and people dying from drug overdoses.

If nothing else, this place is interesting, at least from the perspective of a photographer and a storyteller.

Thanks for reading : )